Her story aired as part of the oral history project, StoryCorps, broadcast to an audience of more than 12 million on National Public Radio. The nation-wide project records conversations between everyday people in an effort to honor and celebrate one another's lives through listening.
Tia's daughter, Christine Smallwood, assistant literary editor at The Nation in New York City, interviewed her for StoryCorps at one of the non-profit's mobile booths. The recorded conversation between them reveals the opposition Tia faced from a professor over her choice to pursue studies in economics, as well as the discrimination she faced during a job interview. With her daughter's encouragement, Tia agreed to air her story, despite personal doubts.
Tia came to Douglass from Langhorne, PA, and majored in economics after finding that a mathematics major was not a good match for her.
"Economics was considered a social science," she says. She had to fight to take economics classes at a time when women were not typically enrolled in such a major, going before the Dean's Board at the time. To beef up her major, she loaded up on courses in accounting and finance.
"These courses gave me the analytical training that opened the door for me in business," says Tia.
Tia overcame opposition and went on to achieve great heights. She is currently the Director of Marketing at SAI Global at their North American headquarters in Plainsboro, New Jersey.
"About 20 years later," says Tia, "I was in an elevator when I happened to notice my old professor." He was by then an elderly man.
"You probably don't remember me," she said to him, "but, I was in your class." To her surprise, the professor remembered her, and even called her by name. She realized she had made an impact.
Some of the e-mails Tia has received since her story aired came from high school classmates she has not heard from in more than 35 years. In these notes, Tia learned her experience resonated with her classmates, as they had overcome similar struggles and experiences as young women.
She shared her story now, because "I think it is important for young women in their twenties to understand that they cannot be willing to let all this hard work go to waste," Tia says. "Women need to think about this."
Her StoryCorps interview and photo are archived on NPR's Web site here.
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